Striker
by Night's Angel31
Summary: Striker had always protected Kitty and loved her like a sister. When they escaped, there were many dangers in the outside world, but who knew the most dangerous ones would involve Erasers. With the help of Max and the Flock, will he be able to protect her
1. Chapter 1

Striker looked down at the sleeping figure huddled next to him. She purred as he rubbed her head. She looked so small and defenceless. Kitty was ten with the mental age of a five year old. Her little cat ears at the top of her head peered out of her blonde hair and her tail twitched. Her human body was cold from the air. He wrapped his wings around her tiny body to keep her warm. He remembered the first time they had met.

The young white coat was new and got the cages mixed up. He didn't see the to her experiment huddled in the corner. He shoved the little girl into the cage and slammed the door. The girl cowered in the corner, away from the other experiment. Striker was overwhelmed with the smell of fear. He shifted slightly closer to her, she whined and clung to the cage door, her fingers poking through the bars.

Striker kept edging closer until he saw her face. He instantly felt in love with her cute face. She was terrified, but her face was illuminescent. The tiny three-year-olds body started shaking violently, not from fear but as an after effect of a drug they had just injected her with.

He quickly huddled next to her, wrapping his wings around her, protecting her from that moment on. He didn't know it then, but from that day he would love her as his sister, protecting her in everyway, never letting her out of his sight…. willingly.

After that, every time they were separated they would whine, meow (well she would) and make as much noise as possible. They were inseparable.

Footsteps echoed from further up the corridor. Striker held Kitty closer; ready to protect her from any danger that may approach. Kitty woke up from the sudden embrace and stared at him curiously. Then she heard the footsteps and burrowed her head into his chest and hugged his waist.

The white coat stopped in front of their cage. "Hello Striker. How are we today?" an evil grin appeared on his face. Striker growled and held Kitty even tighter. "We have a busy schedule today, especially for our little prodigy," he nodded towards Kitty. "Only if you can catch us," Striker pushed Kitty aside.

He launched himself at the white coat as he opened the cage. The white coat was weak and fell back without much effort from Striker. The white coat pressed a button on what looked like a garage door opener. A buzzing noise came over the speakers and the thundering of running Eraser feet. They broke through the door at the end of the corridor, charging towards him. Just when the Erasers were centimetres from him, he blacked out. His heart started racing, he felt adrenaline pumping though his veins.


	2. Meeting the flock

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or any of the flock. JP does.

Chapter 2 

The soft sound of the rain soothed his pain. Something rubbed his side and he jolted from surprise. The lanky figure jumped away and cowered next to a dumpster… wait a dumpster? He did a double take. The ground was wet and he could hear sirens in the distance. He was…. OUTSIDE! Kitty was dressed in different clothes and so was he. She looked terrified. Slowly and carefully, he advanced towards her to comfort her, but she backed up against the wall to get as far away from him as possible. She was afraid of… him.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," he showed her his palms to she he wasn't going to hurt her. She still didn't trust him, but she relaxed slightly. Then he realised she was going to run for it. He quickly grabbed her and held her close until she settled. She fought for the first minute, but eventually gave up the fight. Tears streamed down her face. "What's wrong?" he said as he patted her head. "Eyes. Eyes, black and cold," she mumbled, "Blood seeping through skin". She began to rock in his arms, as though she were insane. He had no idea what was talking about, but knew it was pointless to ask.

After a while he realised she didn't have her cat ears, or her tail for that matter, "Where are your ears?" he asked as he searched her hair for them. "I hid them," she sniffed. "You can do that?" His eyes widened, "Wow". She smiled, finally sinking into his hug, She was over it…. for now, whatever _it_ was.

It had been a while since Striker had been on the New York streets. There weren't many people out after all it _was_ raining. He wasn't quite sure what to do; they needed shelter but he didn't have any money, they needed food again they needed money. They past a boarded subway entrance, he didn't need to be a genius to realise boarded subway shelter. He broke some boards and they both squeezed through.

Inside was cold, wet and pitch black, but it was easy for both of them to see. It smelt absolutely foul and there was mold growing on the walls, the place must have been closed for years. Kitty reached out to touch the mold in curiosity, but Striker grabbed her hand, "No," he said firmly but with all the love in the world. She withdrew her hand and followed close behind Striker as he walked towards the railway.

Striker knew that there would be an area somewhere down there where the hungry and homeless hang out. He jumped down onto the tracks then helped Kitty down. They walked down the track for a few minutes until he saw light at the end of the tunnel approaching fast, no it wasn't salvation, it was a train! Striker quickly grabbed Kitty's arm and pulled her to the side. He pushed her up against the wall with his body to protect her from anything that might come flying towards them.

The train past and they continued down the track. They eventually hear voices and turned down a side tunnel towards them.

There were a few fires in some old oil containers with groups of grubby men and women warming themselves. Others were leaned up against the walls asleep or mumbling conversations to each other. No one really noticed the pair wander in and set themselves up in a free space against the wall. "I'm hungry," Kitty looked up at him with adorably sad eyes. "I know, me too". He let her snuggle into his chest.

He was half asleep when he heard an argument not too far away. He looked up and saw a boy waving his laptop in the air. He was yelling at a girl who was clutching her head and a mixture of kids and teenagers who were around her. "Tell you girlfriend to stop messing with my computer. This happens every time you come here," he yelled. Striker look around to see how much attention it was attracting, but no one was taking much notice.

She's not doing anything, your paranoid," a teenage boy sitting next to her argued. "Whatever, just keep her under control," he snarled as he walked away. The teenage boy began talking to the others. Something about the group seemed familiar. He had never seen them before, but he felt as if they had something in common. But he highly doubted it, not many people had wings.

Striker gently pushed a sleeping Kitty off him and walked over to the group. As he approached the group they went quiet and stared at him. "Are you okay?" he asked the girl. She nodded, but didn't look at him. "She just has a headache, she'll be fine," the boy said, but wasn't convinced himself.

"My name's Striker," he reached out for the boy's hand to shake, and you are?" THe boy paused before answering, as if contemplating whether to tell the truth or lie, "Fang and this is Max," he pointed to the girl. Then there was silence. "Well, are you going to introduce us?" another boy the same age asked. He didn't seem to be looking at anything particular, but he didn't look at the person her was talking to. "Oh, this is Iggy, he's blind. Nudge never shuts up," he nodded his head towards an eleven year old girl with tanned skin, she smiled. "Gazzy," he motioned to an eight year old boy sitting next to a little girl, " and that's Angel, the youngest. Max is the oldest". Max smiled and add, "And in charge". "What about me?" the dog said. "Oh, and Total". The dog huffed and sat on Angel.

"So you're Striker, didn't you come in with a girl?" Max asked. "Yeah, that's Kitty she…" he looked over to where he left her, but she wasn't there. He quickly scanned the area and found her crouching in front of a sleeping old man, her face inches from his. "Kitty," he groaned and ran over to her. He put his arm behind her back gently pulled her back towards the group. "He smells," she commented. "Well, there's a high chance that he hasn't had a bath in a while," he quietly told her. She giggled childishly.


	3. Erasers

Chapter 3: Erasers 

"This is Kitty. Kitty this is Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel," he pointed to each of them, "and Total". "Kitty, that's a nice name," Max said in a friendly matter and went to shake the ten year old's hand. Kitty backed away and gripped Striker's jacket. "She doesn't like new faces," he told them then spoke to Kitty. "It's ok, they're not going to hurt you". She loosened her grip, but didn't let go.

Suddenly she sat on the ground and crossed her legs. "I'm hungry," she looked up at him with her sad adorable eyes, again. "Here, we have food," Nudge grabbed a chocolate bar from a backpack and held it towards Kitty. Kitty snatched it from her hand and ripped the packet open. "What do you say?" Striker questioned her. "Food," she replied innocently. He rolled his eyes, "Thank you," he said to Nudge.

Later Striker sat with Max, Fang and Iggy and talked while Kitty sat with Nudge, Gazzy and Angel, drawing on the cold cement with some chalk they found. The older ones weren't too happy about them playing with stuff they found down there, but Kitty and Angel were as stubborn as each other.

Stiker was having a great conversation with kids his own age for the first time in his life. The only people he'd ever talked to, or even seen, had been Erasers, whitecoats and Kitty and he had to admit they weren't exactly conversations. For the first time in his life he was enjoying himself with people other than itty. Kitty was the only person who kept him going all those years at the School. But it didn't last long.

"Eww," Angel complained. "Um, Striker you may want to look at this," Nudge informed him. Striker went over and looked at what Kitty had drawn. "Oh no," he said under his breath. In the picture was Striker, his eyes were glowing red and an Eraser was on the ground, lying in a pool of blood. "Has this happened?" he asked her. She shook her head, "No, but it will soon". "We have to leave. We'll see you around," he waved at the others then pulled Kitty to her feet. "I don't want to go".

"We have to," he dragged her away, back the way they came. "Is that an Eraser?" Max yelled after him. Striker stopped and turned around, "How do you…" but he didn't need to finish or need the answer, he knew. Kitty wasn't paying any attention to their conversation and was looking the other way. "Lycan," she pointed. Striker turned around and saw an Eraser walking casually towards them. "Run!" Max shouted.

They ran out of the subway and onto the street. The Erasers followed. They ran down an alley and readied for take off. Angel, Gazzy Iggy and Nudge had taken off and were hovering above. Kitty had never flown before, in fact she had never uncoiled her wings. Strker had, he had flown millions of times for the whitecoats' experiments. He, Max and Fang were convincing her to fly, but she was too afraid. "Come on Kitty, it won't hurt". "No, what goes up must come down," she cried. Fang could hear the Erasers getting closer, "We have to leave". "Look, Kitty, their flying," he pointed at the others, "all you have to do is spread your wings and leap".

After a more words to convince her, they were away. They flew for five hours, before they were exhausted and had to rest. Kitty had struggled with flying and fell asleep almost as soon as she hit the ground. They slept in the woods on a flat area of land. Nearly everyone was asleep except for Max, Fang and Striker. Fang was on first watch and sat against the tree, observing his surroundings. Max sat next to Striker, who had Kitty snuggled into him, and talked.

"So what's with Kitty?" Max asked, "Why is she… like that?" "Seven years ago, a year before I met her, they did an operation on her brain to… to… I have no idea what they were trying to do. Anyway, something went wrong and now she acts like a child and says random things that I don't understand". "What about that picture she drew? You got pretty freaked out be it".

"Yeah she can do that, she can draw the future, and sometimes she draws things she has seen so it's hard to tell if it has happened or if it's about to happen. And if all that doesn't put her on the School's most wanted list, she's also a genius, and I don't mean smart, I mean she know almost everything. It's quite annoying, but her lover he for it". Max giggled.

Kitty suddenly jolted up, hyperventilating. "What's wrong?" Striker asked concerned. "I had another nightmare," she responded childishly as tears ran down her cheeks. "Shh, it's ok. They're not going to get you," he reassured her. He patted her head and kissed her forehead. She gripped his jacket, as she always did, and sunk into him. Slowly, her eyes shut and she was lulled to sleep with the reassurance of his presence.

The next morning they were up and away before eight o'clock. Nudge chatted away happily to Kitty, who didn't seem to mid her rambling, Gazzy, Angel and Iggy were playing Ispy. Though Iggy wasn't doing too well, Gazzy was telling him the answers, the wrongs answers, but answers none the less. Max was interested in Striker's story and was flying near him asking questions, Fang hung around not as interested as Max, but curious.

"I'm tired," Kitty complained, twitching her tail that had reappeared. "Ok, we'll stop for some food as well," Max announced. They stopped in an abandoned parking lot. Perfect place, out of sight and no one around.

Kitty scoffed down two entire hamburgers that Max and Fang had purchased from a takeaway store a block away. The others went with fish and chips instead. The group at quietly eating when an ear splitting scream echoed around. Their heads shot in the direction of the scream. An Eraser had grabbed Kitty around the waist and was carrying her away, kicking and screaming. Striker instinctively launched himself at the Eraser before he could think.

He grabbed the Eraser's head and thrashed it violently sideways. There was a loud crack, his body went limp and fell to the ground. Striker landed lightly next to him. Kitty threw her arms around Striker and hugged him as tears ran down her face. "It's ok, I'm here," he hugged her back.

"Aww how cute? I'd hate to break it up, who am I kidding? I would love to and I will," an Eraser stood over them accompanied by more Erasers who had surrounded them. Striker protectively wrapped his wings around Kitty. "We want our prodigy back," the Eraser growled. "She's not yours, she not anyone's, and your not taking her," Striker barked.

Max and the Flock had moved and were now standing behind Striker. Fang glared at the Erasers who were slowly surrounding them. Striker stood up bringing Kitty with him. The Erasers prepared to attack, Kitty noticed and whimpered. They launched at them at the same time and the Flock immediately began fighting. One Eraser viciously ripped Kitty out of Striker's grip and dragged her away.

**I'll write more if you review :)**


	4. The School

**Chapter Four: The School**

Striker tried to run after them, but was tackled by three Erasers. "Say goodbye to her mutt, 'cause you'll never see her again," an Eraser teased. Striker saw the tears streaming down Kitty's face as she faded into the distance. He wanted to hug her and never let her go. But he couldn't, no matter how much he struggled against the strong hands holding him down, he couldn't. The last thing he saw was a huge fist coming straight for his head.

------

The air was cold, but Kitty didn't care. She was too busy missing Striker. She had whined for him for the first half hour, until an Eraser for sick of hearing it and took her out of her cage and beat her. After that she curled up in a corner of her cage and longed for him silently.

She hadn't stopped crying since she had been taken form Striker. Footsteps echoed in the corridor as a whitecoat approached her cage. As soon as she heard the sound she cowered, she really didn't want to be there.

He stood in front of her cage and smirked, "Welcome home, we missed you". Kitty let out a whimper. "Don't be afraid, it won't hurt… much," he giggled evilly and carelessly pulled her out of her cage.

------

Striker awoke two hours later in a forest, leaning against a tree. Iggy was nest to a fire, poking it with a stick to hear it crackle. Angel was asleep with Total on her lap. Max noticed Striker was awake and sat next to him. "I'm sorry". Striker shook his head, "How could I let this happen. I was supposed to protect her. Now she's back at the School, who knows what they're doing to her". "It's not your fault. You did everything you could to stop them". "Well it obviously wasn't enough!" he shouted and flew off to a cave to be alone. Max didn't follow him, she understood that he needed to be himself.

------

They sat Kitty in a white room at a table. A whitecoat placed a pen and paper on the table and sat opposite her. He wrote a long very complicated sum on a piece them pushed it towards her. She studied it for a moment then picked up the pen. She began to write the long complicated answer, not making one mistake. She never made a mistake, not accidentally, only to annoy people. But she never made a mistake with the whitecoats' experiments. If she did they knew it was intentional and shocked her. That was what the collar around her neck was for.

She finished the answer and placed the pen down. The whitecoat checked her answer with another on another page that had taken a Mathematician a month to figure out. He glanced at the glass and nodded at the whitecoat on the other side. He moved a plain piece of paper, "Draw". "What?" she asked innocently, but was answered with annoyance and anger. "Don't play dumb with me. Draw the future".

As she drew the future it reminded her of Striker. A tear slid down her cheek and landed on the paper, smudging the drawing. A slight zap with ran through her body. She looked dup at the whitecoat who was holding the discharge button for her collar. "Don't smudge it," he warned. She returned her gaze to the paper.

When she finished the whitecoat stood up, walked over beside her and looked down at the paper. His eyes filled with anger. "You'll regret this". He nodded again at the mirror and an Eraser entered. "Teach her a lesson". The Eraser glanced at the paper and smirked, "Cute". On the paper she had drawn the whitecoat dead on the floor, his body ripped to shreds. "What'd I do?" she cried s the whitecoat left. Kitty didn't understand what she had done wrong, she really had seen what she had drawn. The Eraser stepped closer and she jumped. "We're a bit twitchy, aren't we?"

------

Striker felt like he had bee ripped in two. How could he had let this happen? Kitty was his responsibility and he failed to protect her. He punched the cave wall. Blood seeped through his skin on his knuckles, but he didn't care. He continued to punch the cave wall, blood dripping from his knuckles and pooling on the ground.

The physical pain made the emotional pain subside. Finally, out of energy, he collapsed on the ground. He sat there for what felt like hours, before he decided to return to the Flock.

**As usual, if you want more you have to review :)**


	5. A Failed Attempt

**Chapter Five: A Failed Attempt**

Max was on first watch and sat in front of the fire waiting for Striker to return. And it wasn't long until he dropped out of the sky and landed crouching on the ground. "I knew you would be back soon," she forced a smile. Striker sat next to her and warmed his hands on the fire. "Striker-" Max started, but was cut off by Striker. "You should get some sleep. I'll keep watch". Max sighed and walked over to Angel and Nudge and lay down beside them.

Striker stared into the flames; he could swear he could see Kitty's smiling face looking back at him. It was then he knew what he had to do. He was going to rescue her. It was suicide, but he didn't care, he would die for Kitty. Max wouldn't be happy when she woke up and he was gone, and he knew it. He waited a few minutes to make sure Max was asleep then took off into the night sky on his suicidal mission.

-------

Kitty cried quietly in her cage. She missed Striker so much. She wanted to be with him, she wanted to snuggle up into him and feel safe. Her silent tears stung the cuts on her face, but she didn't feel the minor pain over the major pain of her bruised ribs and bleeding arm.

When she heard the footsteps at the end of the corridor, she felt as though she wanted to die. Life without Striker was unbearable. The collar around her neck began to chafe and she pulled at it, but it didn't help. An electric shock ran through her body and she whimpered.

"Don't pull at it or I'll do it again," the whitecoat was back. He looked even more evil than before. Kitty didn't pull on the collar again, but the whitecoat shocked her again for the hell of it. She tried not to whimper, but the pain was too much. The sound escaped her lips and the whitecoat smiled. He dragged her out of the cage for more experimentation.

The whitecoat threw Kitty on the ground in a sterilised white room, a different one to before. She immediately coiled up into a ball and looked up the whitecoat, her eyes full of fear. He slammed a pen and paper in front of her. "Draw," he ordered. Kitty shook her head. He wanted her to draw what she saw of the future, but all she could see was the whitecoat dead on the floor. She knew he wouldn't like it.

"Now!" She shook her head again, she didn't want to get shocked again. He grabbed her shirt collar and brought her to her feet. "Don't try me patience!" "No," her eyes watered and overflowed down her cheeks, "I don't want to draw". He released her collar and stepped back, as far away from him as she could get.

He reached into his pocket and found the discharge button and pressed. Kitty jolted and her legs collapsed from under her. She looked up at him with teary eyes. His finger hovered over the button then the door burst open.

Striker landed on the whitecoat's back and he fell forward onto the floor. Striker's eyes were black as coal. They stared at the back of the struggling whitecoat's head. He clenched his fist and punched the whitecoat's head. His skull crushed under the pressure. The whitecoat instantly went limp. Striker breathed heavily as his black eyes gazed at nothing. Kitty curled up in ball on the floor again. It had happened before. Kitty had watched him kill many Erasers and few whitecoats. She was as scared then as she was the first time.

Striker's fist was drenched in the whitecoat's blood. Kitty whimpered and Striker's head snapped up to look at her. His black eyes faded replaced by his usual green eyes. With the black pupils gone, Kitty was reassured the Striker she knew had returned. She threw herself at him, hugging him. Striker was confused and stunned. What had happened? How did her get there? He had no idea. He recovered from the shock and wrapped his arms around Kitty.

It was then he noticed the blood on his knuckles. Someone's shoes scuffed the floor behind them. Something jabbed into his back. A needle. Striker became light headed, and dizzy. Kitty was ripped from his arms. He tried to grab her, but he was too weak. He stumbled and fell. The last thing he heard was Kitty's terrified scream.

**You have to review if you want me to write more :)**


	6. Safe

**Chapter Six: Safe**

Kitty lay on Striker's chest, felling it go up and down as he breathed. He was unconscious, but the sound of his heart made her feel safe. An experiment in the next cage stared at her and it made her fell uneasy. After a while she began to stare back. The other experiment was the first to break eye contact. Kitty smiled inwardly at her victory, even though she was unhappy that Striker wasn't awake to enjoy it with her.

Striker shifted under her. She looked up at him, he was smiling at her. It was fake, but tried his best to cheer her up. He rubbed her head and she purred. He was saddened by the state of her, she had even more cuts and bruises than she had before. She pulled at the collar on her neck. "It hurts," she whined. "I know, don't pull on it. They'll probably shock you". "They already have," her sad adorable eyes gave him the urge to hug her and never let her go, so he did.

"I wish we were with the Flock," she muffled. He kissed her forehead, "I know, me too". Feeling even safer now that he was awake, she closed her eyes and slowly drifted off. Before she was fully asleep she mumbled, "Thank you for coming back for me".

-----

Kitty was crying again for the third time since they had been there. Striker had done his best to cheer her up, but failed miserably. He hated seeing her cry, it broke his heart. When she heard the footsteps at the end of the corridor, she stopped crying out loud and scrambled over to Striker. She sobbed quietly as she gripped his jacket. The footsteps were unusual.

A whitecoat's and Erasers' footsteps were even and relaxed. These footsteps were fast, like they were running, and there were more than one set. "Striker, I'm scared," Kitty whispered. Striker spread his wings as much as he could in the cage and wrapped them around her. The footsteps got closer and closer until they were almost in front of them.

"Hey, I heat Kitty crying," a voice said, it sounded like Iggy. "How do you know it is Kitty," another asked, Fang he presumed. "She has a distinct sob like a small child, and the fact that I can smell Striker. And where's there's Striker there's Kitty". "Fang? Iggy?" Striker asked quietly. "Hey don't forget me," Max knelt down next to their cage and inspected the lock. "Iggy?" "I got it," Iggy pushed Max out of the way and worked his magic on the lock. The lock clicked and he immediately unhooked it.

**As always, review :)**


	7. Freedom

Chapter Seven: Freedom

Kitty jumped at Iggy and hugged him, surprising everyone especially Striker. She had never hugged _anyone_ other than Striker, but it was the only way she knew to say thank you. When she released Iggy she turned to Striker, who had climbed out of the cage and was currently standing behind her, and wrapped her arms back around him.

A noise outside the corridor prompted them to move. Striker picked Kitty up, which was extremely easy as she was lighter than she should have been. "This way," Max leaded them out of the School through the maze of corridors. Striker held Kitty close and she wrapped her arms around his neck, peering down the corridor they had just come from.

An Eraser entered from one of the rooms and Kitty tightened her arms around Striker. He noticed the increase of her embrace and swivelled around and saw the Eraser. Luckily the Eraser hadn't noticed them as he fiddled with the lock on the door. Striker nudged Fang who was next to him and motioned at the Eraser. Fang passed the message on to Max and Iggy. When Max got the messaged she signalled to hide.

The Eraser began to turn in their direction and Striker dived into the open door next to him and shut it gently behind him, all with Kitty in his arms. Kitty let out an inaudible whimper as they stood in the room, waiting for the Eraser to enter and throw them back in their cages at any moment.

Striker repositioned Kitty on his hip and peered out of a crack in the door. The Eraser walked past without noticing anything unusual, until Kitty sneezed. He stopped dead in his tracks and faced the door. Before Striker thought, he locked the door and searched the room for an escape route.

The Eraser banged on the door then realised he had the keys and the banging deceased, slightly confusing Striker. He found a window and smashed it with a free hand. "You go first," he ordered placing Kitty on the ground; she did as she was told without argument and jumped out the window. Unfurling her wings, she sawed up into the sky shortly followed by Striker. Max, Iggy and Fang had escaped through a window in another room they had hid in and were waiting for the pair.

They didn't hesitate to fly back to where the rest of the Flock had set up for the night. The group arrived back and Nudge instantly stated, "I'm hungry." Iggy sighed and began making dinner. Fang sat down, by himself, leaning against a tree. Max went to check how the younger ones were, soon finding out that they were fine but hungry.

The next morning Striker woke to Kitty's complaining voice. "I'm hungry," she whined, "Why do we always have to sleep on the ground? Striker, can't we stay at a place with beds?" Striker groaned, "Kitty it's too early in the morning, go back to sleep." "But, Striker, I'm not tired, besides I heard something in the bushes." " Isn't Max on watch?" He asked. "Yeah, but she's not here."

It was odd that Max wasn't there, so Striker thought he might as well check it out. He dragged himself up to investigate. He looked in the bushes to find Max struggling against an Eraser. He kicked the Eraser in the head and watched as his neck snapped. "You alright?" he asked Max. "Yeah!" Suddenly more Erasers appeared through the trees. "Wake up!" Max yelled and the flock wake and instantly prepared to fight. Everyone got pinned to the ground (A/N Sorry, couldn't be bothered to write fight scene). "Run, Kitty run!" Striker shouted. Kitty managed to free herself from an Eraser's grasp and ran.

Striker kicked the Eraser holding him in the guy. One by one he killed all the Erasers until the only people left breathing were the flock. Striker searched the area for Kitty but he couldn't find her anywhere. "Did you find her?" Max asked as he walked back to where they had set up camp. He shook his head and sat down glumly near the fire.

Kitty ran straight into the centre of the city. She stopped for a moment and glanced behind her. There were no Erasers, only people. She turned sown an alleyway and sat down behind a dumpster. She breathed heavily after the long run. Realisation began to sink in and she started to cry. She was alone and she had no idea were Striker was or where she was for that matter. He was probably locked up in a cage back at the School with the rest of the flock.

She missed them already. She was hungry and tired and ad no idea what to do. People walked passed unaware she was there. One particular young man stopped a moment to pick up his phone he had dropped. He heard the sobs of the frightened ten-year-old between her gasps for air.

**I finally defeated my writer's block :) I'm so happy!**


	8. Alone

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or the Flock. JP does. Chapter Eight: Alone 

At the sound of the child's sobbing, the man was intrigued to know why. He cautiously turned down the alleyway and found the girl huddled behind the dumpster. "What's wrong?" he asked. Her head shot up and he was suddenly face to face with a ten-year-old with cat ears. Her eyes were wide in terror and blood trickled from her nose. He crouched down to her level so he wouldn't be so intimidating, "Where are you parents?"

The little girl didn't speak for a few moments then sniffed, "I don't know." "What's your name?" he asked gently. She sniffed again, "Kitty." "Do you have a last name, Kitty?" he dialled a number into his phone. "Hawk," she mumbled as she wiped her tears away. The man was confused and abandoned his plan of ringing the phone directory and hit the 'end' button. "Umm, that may pose a problem," he murmured as he pocketed his phone, "I'll help you find your parents. Where did you last see them?" "I don't know. I just went where ever Striker took me," at the mention of Striker's name her eyes welled with tears. _This is good, a name_, he thought. "Striker? Who's Striker?" "My brother."

"Why don't you come with me and I'll take you to the police and they'll-" the man went to grab Kitty's arm, but she pulled away when he mentioned the police. "No!" she shrieked, "No police. Police are bad, Striker said so." "Okay, okay," he said trying to clam her, "we won't go to the police. We'll go back to my place and I'll use some of my connections to find Striker. How's that?" Kitty knew she shouldn't go with strangers, but what else could she do? Striker wasn't there to protect and car for her. He was probably dead or back at the School. "How about that?" he repeated. Kitty nodded and took his offered hand. He watched in amazement as her eyes disappeared into her hair.

The man took Kitty to his apartment on the second top floor of a big apartment complex. She inquisitively observed a glass ornament on a table next to the couch. The man smiled at her childish ways, though he was slightly confused. She was ten yet she acted as though she were younger, maybe five or six. Sat her down on the couch and left briefly. He returned with some biscuits. He gave them to Kitty and sat opposite her. With the man sitting opposite her with a table between them, Kitty was reminded of when she was back at the School when the scientists would interview her and make her draw the future.

"My name's Ian. You can stay here while I help you find Striker. How's that?" the man smiled. Kitty nodded and began eating. Ian picked up his phone and started ringing his 'connections'. After a few minutes, Kitty became bored and started to wander. She found a puzzle box in a cupboard and pulled it out. She returned to couch and turned the box upside down on the table. Ian didn't notice her leave or return until he realised she had emptied the puzzle box and the pieces had gone everywhere. Kitty grinned delightfully as she now had something else to do: search for the puzzle pieces sprinkled everywhere. She crawled around on all fours and picked up the pieces. Some had fallen under the couch, some were under the table and some had managed to find their way to the other side of the room.

Half an hour later, Ian hung up the last phone call for the day. He hadn't rung all his connections, but the others were 'unreachable', as Ian put it nicely. He was in the kitchen when he heard a thump. He ran back to the lounge room where he had left Kitty and found her close to completing the puzzle. He sat down opposite her amazed that she was able to complete it in such a short time. It had taken him a week to finish the puzzle last time he tried. She looked up and smiled at him, "Have you found Striker?" He shook his head. Her smiled faded, replaced by disappointment and longing. Ian noticed, "Don't worry. I'll find him. Besides, he's probably looking for you right now." Kitty knew it wouldn't be possible, but she held tightly onto the thought that he could possibly be searching for her.


	9. The Sister and The Room mate

**Disclaimer: Don't own Maximum Ride… Damn it!**

Chapter Nine: The Sister and the Room mate 

That night Ian's sister came to visit. Kitty sat on the couch watching TV; Ian had tried many times to pry her away from it but failed miserably. Kitty had hidden the remote and would glare at Ian when he would go for the 'off' button on the TV. Ina and his sister were in the kitchen area talking quietly. "She's so cute," she whispered, "who would leave such a fragile child alone in an alleyway?" Ian rubbed his face, "I don't know, but she's eating my fridge out." She giggled, "Come on, you have plenty of money to buy more."

"Food!" Kitty whined. Ian knew the drill, he only done it _thirty _times. He searched his cupboards for the tinniest bit of food left. He found a packet of chips and took them to Kitty. She took them without a word such as a thank you. "You know, the whole cute thing wore off two hours ago," Ian mumbled. Kitty glared at him for a moment then returned her gaze back to the television.

Ian's sister entered and plopped down next to Kitty. "Hello, Kitty. How are you?" Kitty didn't respond nor did she direct her eyes from the television. "She hasn't said much in the last hour, Dee, I highly doubt she's going to have a conversation with you," Ian stated. "If you get me more food, I'll talk to you," Kitty said. Dee smiled, got up and put on her coat, "I'll be back soon." Ian glowered at Kitty, "Well, aren't you just the cutest annoying ball I ever met."

Fifteen minutes later Dee returned with two plastic bags of food. Kitty delightedly bounced over to her and relieved Dee of the bags. She sat back on the couch and began digging through the bags. "So, Kitty, who's Striker?" Dee asked, as she got comfortable next to Kitty. "My brother," Kitty replied, stuffing her face with food. "What happened to him?" Kitty paused, "We got separated… in a crowd."

Dee didn't believe her and began to argue when her phone went off. "Looks like I gotta go. See you two around," Dee had stood and left within thirty seconds of receiving the message. Ian took this a usual behaviour and waved his sister good-bye. Before the door had latched shut, someone else pushed the door opened. I young slender man emerged from behind the door with a confused look on his face, "Where she going in such and rush," then he noticed Kitty and raised an eyebrow, "and who may I say is that?"

"This is Kitty," Ian introduced, "Kitty, this is Jaime, my room mate." Jaime shut the door with a frown, "Are picking kids off the street again?" Ian rolled his eyes and shook his head, "No, I'm helping her find her brother." Jaime dumped his bag next to the door and headed for the kitchen, "Whatever. I'm hungry." There were a few slams of cupboard doors and groans and some more slamming, then the fridge finally opened and closed, "Where the food!" Jaime yelled from the kitchen. He went back to the where the pair were and found Kitty eating a twinkie. "She comes in, she sits on my couch and eats my food," he said flatly then turned to Ian, "Please explain."

"She completed the puzzle," Ian nodded at the puzzle on the table in front of him. "Holy… how… how long she been here?" Jaime exclaimed. Ian checked his watch, "Since about midday. It only took her about half an hour. Jaime's jaw dropped and he crossed his arms over his chest like a pouting infant, "That's not fair. It's supposed to be unbeatable. This is so unfair. That's another thing to add to the list.

She came it

She sat on my couch

She ate my food

She finish _my_ puzzle"

"Settle down you six year old," said Ian. "This better be only temporary," he grumbled and threw himself on the couch. Ian checked his watch again, "Umm, you're going to hate me for this, but I have to go." "What!" Jaime yelled, "You're going to leave her with me!" Ian left and returned with a backpack, "Yeah. I have to do some business." "Screw your 'business', I am not being left alone with her-" Ian slammed the door shut to avoid hearing the rest. Jaime glared at Kitty and she glared back.


End file.
